Press release

Five teams unbeaten in Asian Men’s Championship

Pakistan captain Naseer Ahmed tries to hit between the block of Takaaki Tomimatsu and Yu Koshikawa in his side's loss to Japan

Tehran, Iran, September 23, 2011 – Victories for Australia, China, Japan, Iran and India highlighted the second day of competition at the 16th Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship in Tehran, Iran on Thursday as the race for a FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup spot continued.

The eventual champions will qualify for the World Cup, set to take place in Japan from November 20 to December 20, with the top three teams from that tournament then moving on to the London 2012 Olympic Games. If Japan finish as champions, the runners-up will qualify.Pool AHosts Iran scored their second straight victory by downing Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-17) in their match on Thursday. Iran’s intense offense swept past Chinese Taipei as the viditors could do nothing against the hosts block. It was not only Iran’s blocking that worked well but also their resilient attacks as they erected a towering lead.

India was in great shape as they saw off Afghanistan in straight sets (25-9, 25-13, 25-11) following a 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei the previous day. With a good-sized crowd watching both teams, pressure was expected in their plays, but India rose to the challenge, illustrating calmness to control and easily beat Afghanistan.

India and Iran both have a perfect record While Chinese Taipei and Afghanistan are winless so far.Pool BChina also improved their win-loss record to 2-0 as they came through a tough encounter with Indonesia in straight sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-14). Indonesia’s superb attacking strategy surprised the Chinese in most plays, but a solid performance from Chen Ping and Zhong Weijun in the third set was sufficient to secure their victory.

The strong Sri Lankan serve caused constan problems for Uzbekistan’s as the latter went down in straight sets (25-2, 25-13, 25-22).“We played according to our plan to win. Our weapon was our spiking and defence,” Sri Lanka coach W.M.S. Kumara said. “S.A.J. Surath (Janitha) and our captain, S.A.D.S.P. Disanayaka (Sameera) worked hard as planned. Our opponent’s reception ability was not good, so we got good points on our service.”

Sri Lanka improved their win-loss record to 1-2 and Indonesia now has a 1-1 record. Uzbekistan dropped their record to 0-2.

Pool CJapan struggled in their match against Pakistan, needing a tiebreaker to seal a 3-2 (25-20, 26-28, 21-25, 25-16, 15-5) win. Pakistan’s dynamic attacking tactics in the second and third set forced Japan to lose control in the match. But the Pakistanis could not sustain the same energy in the fifth, allowing Japan to force a tiebreaker and the eventual win.

Kazakhstan also needed five sets to see off Thailand in another close match on Thursday as they won 3-2 (25-13, 18-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12). Both teams encountered setbacks in each set that forced the match to be decided by a tiebreaker. Kazakhstan lost their focus in the match and eventually their momentum after winning the first set. Thailand saw through the dwindling Kazakh defence by ambushing it with countless attacks in the second and third. However momentum drifted back to Kazakhstan and the players patiently played each point to take the match.

Japan now tops the pool with two wins. Pakistan and Kazakhstan both have 1-1 record and Thailand is yet to pick up a win.

Pool DAustralia continued their strong start as they beat Qatar in straight sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-21). The Australians sealed the first two sets easily but had a huge setback at the start of the third set following a good attacking performance by the Qataris. However the Australians failed to hold back and seized every opportunity to cut Qatar’s lead down to clinch victory.

However coach Jon Uriarte has said there is still a long way to go in the tournament.

“It’s a long way, we can only think about tomorrow,” he added.

Korea recovered from their loss on the opening day as they beat Turkmenistan in straight sets (25-17, 25-16, 25-15). Although Korea made some careless mistakes in the match, Turkmenistan’s inexperience was a major disadvantage for them, and their defence was constantly exploited throughout the game.

Australia is the only team unbeaten in Pool D, followed by Korea and Qatar, both with the win-loss record of 1-1. Turkmenistan have now suffered two defeats in a row.